Domain Renewal Group - A Warning...

mrJ_5

if its a personal domain (at least for sure with UK domains) these details can be hidden on the WHOIS - business domains need to show these details however

dekh

In the middle of the text it says "This notice is not a bill, it is rather an easy means of payment..."

Your current registrar will also have an "easy means of payment" and (if your contact details are correct) will remind you to pay, or if you have set up recurring payment and the method is still valid will automatically charge you.

The price for the Domain Name Renewal Service from the Domain Renewal Group is today £25 for a dot com for one year.

By comparison...
Hostinguk.net charge £7.95 to register & renew or £8.98 to transfer - prices plus VAT. (So £9.54 inc)
(I use hosting uk because their sales & support numbers are 01745 ....) free from my mobile And the number is big, bold and on the front page.

123reg is also very popular and mentioned above:
They are charging £9.99 for .com domains. I *think* this is inclusive of VAT.
Their support has improved somewhat over recent years and the control panel offers more options now. But you have to go looking for the contact numbers. There is an 020 number in saynoto0870.com

(And be on the look out for that Dutch World Directory thing that signs you up to a contract for £195/year for three years and then rolls annually! All for agreeing to update your details. That is a real nasty one.)

easyhost

these letters are a scam which has been going on for many years. i am surprised that these have not been shut down by UK authorities.

http://www.domainscams.co.uk/domain-name-scammer_42_Domain-Renewal-Group.php
http://www.ukbusinesslabs.co.uk/forums/domain-names-domaining/4017-domain-renewal-group-scam.html
http://www.irishwebmasterforum.com/domains-and-domaining/10688-domain-renewal-group-scam-letters.html

whizzocki

Ha, I have arrived! Received one of these in the post this morning.

After some research it seems that what they are doing IS a scam, as they do not renew your domain, just take the money and run. When your domain then expires with your current host, the website just dies.

gavme

I've had quite a few more of these letters through recently. This is quite a good article on it:

Is Domain Renewal Group a scam?

droopsnoot

DROA is another one - they do at least renew the domain, but it's a seriously difficult job trying to get your domain back when you see how much cheaper you could have done it elsewhere. A colleague of mine did it because the letter they send is so official-looking, but he's been trying to get it back to a more economic registrar for ages now.

moreTvicar

Hate these domain registration scams!!

Very frustrating, because you just know it must work for quite a lot of people, especially small businesses who aren't clued up.